With Rotation in Shambles, Mets Using Matsuzaka Just to Get to Finish Line

ATLANTA—From a competitive standpoint, the Mets' season has long been over. They haven't sniffed the .500 mark in the standings since late April. Any notion of contending for the playoffs vanished before the last of the winter's frost melted away.

But the fact remains that officially, there is still a month remaining on the schedule, another 26 meaningless baseball games through which the Mets must slog. It isn't about wins and losses...